I used to run The Essential Vibe as a podcast over four years ago, but I eventually had to stop because it simply became too expensive to maintain. Between hosting costs and other overheads, it just wasn’t sustainable at the time, especially when subscriber numbers were low. Most people were happy listening on Mixcloud, which was fine, but it didn’t come close to covering the bills.

Back then, I did have around 15 select subscribers on Mixcloud. However, I actually advised them to cancel, because the situation hasn’t really changed even today—Mixcloud only pays around 20p per subscriber. Honestly, that’s not viable. When a single show can take up to three days to plan, record, and produce, it works out to virtually nothing in return. I was putting everything into it, going above and beyond, and breaking my back for something that just didn’t add up financially. As some of you may know, I haven’t done the show regularly for around 2½ years because of this.

What I can offer now—similar to what a few former subscribers already do—is a more direct and sustainable option. Supporters can contribute £10 per month directly, and in return, I’ll upload all my mixes to my private Plex server. You’ll be able to stream and download them for offline listening on your phone or tablet using Plexamp.

If that’s something you’d be interested in, let me know 👍